How much do you know about your disease, and how much your local doctors tell you about your disease? Do not worry, you can go and get a further understanding about your own disease here. We promise you that no matter what kind of kidney disease you are suffering from, you will surely find the useful information.

The Tests to Diagnose Whether is Kidney Failure or Not

If kidney disease patients have a lot of symptoms or discomforts, they may be suspected to develop into kidney failure. To diagnose whether they have kidney failure, some tests are needed to do. If you have a similar problem, read on to find out what tests you need to do.

1. Blood tests

- Serum creatinine: Creatinine is one waste product generated from metabolic metabolism. Normally, the creatinine level ranges from 0.5 to 1.1 mg/dl for female and 0.6 to 1.2 mg/dl for male. The high creatinine level in blood can indicate kidney damage.

- Blood urea nitrogen (BUN): A normal BUN ranges from 9 to 20. Just like creatinine, it is another indicator for how well kidneys are functioning. Generally speaking, the higher BUN level, the lower kidney function level.

- Hemogloblin: Many kidney failure patients have renal anemia. This test can help detect whether kidney patients have this problem.

- Glomerular filtration rate (GFR): GFR test measures the amount of blood kidneys filter out every minute. Compared with creatinine and BUN, GFR is the most reliable indicator for kidney function level. When GFR is less than 15ml/min, it means patients’ kidney disease has developed into kidney failure.

Urine tests

- Urinalysis: Through checking out the amount of protein, blood, pus, bacteria and sugar in the urine, we can know whether kidneys are producing urine correctly.

- Urine protein: It is used to reflect how well glomeruli are working, and it is also a part of urinalysis.

Imaging tests

Ultrasound and CT scan are used commonly to diagnose kidney failure. Ultrasound can look for abnormalities in size or position of kidneys, while CT scan can help detect structural abnormalities or the presence of obstructions.

Kidney biopsy

If your kidney failure is suspected to be caused by IgA Nephropathy, FSGS, Nephrotic Syndrome or Lupus Nephritis, you may be recommended to take kidney biopsy. This test can also help guide doctors to help your make a correct treatment plan.

If you do not know what tests you should do to diagnose, you can leave message to our online experts as you like.